


under a streetlight

by ifthebookdoesntsell



Category: The Prom (2020), The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, date, greenelan - Freeform, soft stuff again lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:49:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29567781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifthebookdoesntsell/pseuds/ifthebookdoesntsell
Summary: Emma takes another sip of her Icee as she walks out of the movie theatre, hand in hand with Alyssa.They’re in South Bend again, and it’s almost two o’clock in the morning. They’re two of the few who brave the last showings in town, but it’s nice to be so anonymous at times like this when her girlfriend’s mom is out of town and they can stay out as late as they’d like. They’re free to kiss in the back, to snuggle in the seats, which recline-- something that had Emma’s jaw excitedly on the floor when she found out-- and have all the things they can’t back in Edgewater.Under the cover of night like this, surrounded by a few precious others who seem to enjoy the facelessness of everybody else in the theatre just as much as them, it’s almost possible to feel normal.(Or, the one with the late-night date.)
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Comments: 10
Kudos: 50





	under a streetlight

**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all! i hope that everybody is doing okay out there. it seems like the whole world is going Through It a bit, so i hope that y'all are doing alright. i didn't plan on originally posting, but i got on a google doc for a prompt i set aside, and this just happened. 
> 
> [here's](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2shsRo9ok84rosT0QzWaxH?si=5ry8zgZSQquoX2bvhPz_dw) the playlist that inspired this fic. 
> 
> i hope this soft gay shit makes you smile. love to everybody out there <3 
> 
> (title/inspired by cardigan by taylor swift.)

Emma takes another sip of her Icee as she walks out of the movie theatre, hand in hand with Alyssa. 

They’re in South Bend again, and it’s almost two o’clock in the morning. They’re two of the few who brave the last showings in town, but it’s nice to be so anonymous at times like this when her girlfriend’s mom is out of town and they can stay out as late as they’d like. They’re free to kiss in the back, to snuggle in the seats, which recline-- something that had Emma’s jaw excitedly on the floor when she found out-- and have all the things they can’t back in Edgewater. 

Under the cover of night like this, surrounded by a few precious others who seem to enjoy the facelessness of everybody else in the theatre just as much as them, it’s almost possible to feel normal. 

“I can’t believe you’re having that this late,” Alyssa says, gesturing to the drink, eyes affectionately teasing as they begin to head back in the direction of the truck. 

“It’s my favorite,” Emma answers, as if that explains everything. She takes one last sip, shivering at the coolness in a way that makes the other girl roll her eyes before they drop hands so Emma can throw away the cup. 

Alyssa watches her, gaze so perfectly soft and loving that it makes Emma’s heart trip over itself. 

Suddenly, she remembers being in history class on Friday, how her teacher said that _when you’re young, you know nothing._

Emma doesn’t think she’s ever heard anything so untrue, especially now. 

Because already, she’s known true love, known what it is to give her heart away. Every spare second of the day, Alyssa occupies every _what if_ about the future, lingers on her lips long after they’ve kissed hello or goodbye. She’s the girl she’d give the rest of her life to, is the girl who’s touched every scar that lines her heart, the one who made her feel as though she weren’t tracing evidence of pain but rather the outline of constellations, that every beginning and ending was a star. 

Alyssa holds Emma up as if she’s the sky, as if everything would fall apart if she crashed to Earth. 

Emma does the same for her, steals seconds, minutes, hours, from time itself, holds them between her and her love, uses those moments to allow Alyssa to rest, to laugh, to scream, to cry, to do anything else she needs, before she has to head back home, to the life she doesn’t want but must continue to live. 

It’s why Emma grabs the pole of the streetlight with her left hand, swinging around it like she’s the lead in some musical number. 

It always makes Alyssa laugh. 

Emma loves it when she laughs. 

She spins around it a few times, watching as Alyssa smiles, giggling when Emma suddenly lets go and propels herself forward, grabbing her hand and dragging her along with practiced speed and movement. 

Her eyes are alight with recognition; it’s clear she’s remembered something. 

“Come on!” Emma says excitedly, spying something familiar up ahead. 

Alyssa picks up her pace, heart racing. 

Time has stilled and sped and turned back as it always does with Emma. She can imagine this happening when they were younger, can almost taste the future of a moment just like this once they get out of this place, knows that whatever is about to happen will make her blush, will make her fall even deeper in love. 

Emma hits a hard right when they get to the end of the block, hazel eyes glimmering with mischief and adoration as they’re suddenly in a small park, street lamps illuminating it in a soft glow, park benches empty and welcoming. Flowers adorn the path Emma has pulled them on, and as they slow down, Alyssa takes it all in.

Forget-me-nots and roses are the ones she recognizes. 

“I used to come here with my grandfather sometimes,” Emma tells her, turning so that she’s facing her and still holding her hand. “He would always pick flowers for Gran.” 

“It’s beautiful,” Alyssa says softly. 

Emma’s lips twitch as a memory suddenly takes hold. “He used to embarrass Greg and I so bad. He would take Gran’s hand on the side of this path, even if it was totally busy in the middle of the day, and he would ask her to dance.” 

Alyssa smiles. “I don’t think that’s embarrassing.” 

“Tell that to eight year old me,” Emma jokes. She looks down for a moment before hazel eyes meet brown ones again. The cast of the streetlight brings the gold out in her gaze, makes it seem infinite as Alyssa stares back, waiting for her to say something more. For a moment, the silence envelops them in the easy way they’re accustomed to, pulls the warmth from their hearts and places it between them like a gentle, flickering flame. Finally, Emma breaks the silence. “Do you want to dance with me now?”

“You’re not embarrassed?” Alyssa teases, though she hooks her fingers in the belt loops of Emma’s Levi’s to force her close as she asks the question. 

“To be seen with the prettiest girl in the whole world?” Emma asks. “Never.” 

Alyssa blushes at that. “I don’t know about that.”

“You are,” Emma assures, smiling when slim arms wrap around her middle and she throws her arms over Alyssa’s shoulders until they’re pressed close, almost in a hug, and begin to sway. 

Softly, Emma starts to hum, pulling back slightly until she can take Alyssa’s hands back into hers to dance with her, good and proper. 

She continues the song, gentle and perfect at the level of a whisper as she motions for Alyssa to twirl, lifting her arm. 

Alyssa laughs quietly, watching as her shadow mingles with Emma’s on the cobblestone, appreciating the way they look like one before she’s pulled back into her girlfriend’s familiar embrace, her back pressed to Emma’s front. 

_“So this is love?”_ Emma sings softly in her ear, cold fingers inching their way under her sweatshirt slightly, ghosting over her stomach in a way that makes Alyssa giggle and squirm. Her humming that follows is throatier, and it makes Alyssa shiver, makes her press back into Emma’s space until lips are on the shell of her ear. 

Suddenly, Alyssa finds herself utterly intoxicated by this moment, drunk on the freedom she’s experiencing. Emma is the only person who knows her in the whole world, is the only one who’s ever seen her like this. 

In this moment, she’s so forcefully made aware that when it comes down to it, Emma is all she really needs. So many people have left her; she thinks of her father, who ran like the river that cuts through Edgewater, and she can’t ever imagine Emma doing that to her, can’t ever imagine that they’re anything but what’s meant to be. 

_This is love,_ she thinks to herself. 

She carefully turns in Emma’s grip at that thought, goosebumps spreading across her skin when rough fingertips ghost over her sides as she does, a shy smile on her lips when Emma’s hands still themselves on the small of her back. 

Carefully, she presses up on her toes, unable to do anything but. There are no words to describe what she’s feeling, nothing that would cover it quite like a kiss. 

There’s a permanence to this moment, lips pressed together, drunk on each other under this streetlight, as if they’ve managed to capture forever. 

“I love you, Emma,” Alyssa mumbles, meaning it so deeply that it’s impossible to say how much. 

“I love you too,” Emma replies, smiling as Alyssa pecks her lips one last time before she pulls back. 

Her arms are still wrapped around her, and Emma blushes when she realizes her hands are still under her girlfriend’s sweatshirt. She pulls back, eyes suddenly spying something right behind Alyssa. 

She lets go of her completely, walking carefully over to a patch of flowers, picking one gently. In a flash, she remembers what her grandfather would always say to Gran. She grins to herself as she wanders back over, eyes soft. 

“Forget me not, Alyssa?” she whispers, offering it as if it’s a promise ring. 

Alyssa smiles back at her, weighing the truth of her words before she says them, knowing that Emma is part of every one of her best memories, is the one thing she’d ask the world if she could keep if she were ever forced to start anew. She plucks the flower from her girlfriend’s hand delicately, stepping forward into her space, looking up into Emma’s eyes, simultaneously feeling like she’s drowning and breathing for the very first time as she always does when she gets drawn in by their infinity. 

“I could never forget you, Emma.”

**Author's Note:**

> hey there! thanks for reading! what did you think? if you've got any thoughts/enjoyed, i'd love to hear from you. consider dropping me a comment/kudo down below so i know that you liked it! 
> 
> also, the song that emma's humming is "so this is love" from cinderella :)
> 
> as always, you can find me on tumblr @ifthebookdoesntsell. my askbox is always open for whatever is on your mind. 
> 
> be safe x


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